surviving fieldwork

Valerie Samson (samson@NETCOM.COM)
Sat, 13 Aug 1994 11:05:15 -0700

I have just read Nancy Howell's excellent report "Surviving Fieldwork"
published in 1990 as number 26 in a series by the American Anthropology
Association. Behind the mass of statistics are some truly harrowing tales.
Thank you very much for a scholarly approach to the subject that neither
glamorizes nor sensationalizes the very real dangers of fieldwork.

Most ethnomusicologists also engage in fieldwork, but to my knowledge
there is no equivalent study of their experiences. Anyone wishing to
include ethnomusicologists in future studies of fieldwork could tap into
a wealth of information by posting a message to the Ethnomusicology Review
Digest at ethmus-l@umdd.umd.edu . How closely do our experiences compare?
To what extent do they differ? Can we learn from each other?

Valerie Samson